Mining Survey Says: Wisconsin Poor Investment Locale

A report by the Canadian Fraser Institute is being touted by a state business advocacy group as reason enough for the Wisconsin legislature to approve Assembly Mining Bill 426.

According to the institute's 2010-2011 survey of metal mining and exploration companies, Wisconsin fares poorly in its potential of being a mining site.

The survey includes data from 79 locales on every continent except Antarctica.  Overall, it concludes that when it comes to grading governments on the attractiveness of their policies for potential mining companies, "the bottom 10 scorers are Indonesia, Zimbabwe, Wisconsin, Madagascar, India, Guatemala, Bolivia, DRC (Congo), Venezuela, and Honduras."

"Unfortunately, except for Wisconsin, these are all developing nations which most need the new jobs and increased prosperity that mining can produce," the report reads.

The state group Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce says that with Wisconsin's potential to permit an iron mine in the Penokee-Gogebic Range, commit to permitting of business through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and reform state mining law through Assembly Bill 426, Wisconsin is presented with an opportunity to "improve its reputation with the international mining community."

"Though Wisconsin has a rich history of mining, current perceptions of the state’s regulations and the administration of those regulations makes that history seem mythical," the advocacy group says. "The state’s current reputation makes it one of the least likely mining sites in the world."

The state group says that of all 79 jurisdictions included in the Fraser Institute survey, Wisconsin's  regulations were of the most severe in terms of mining investment deterrence.

Since 1997, the Fraser Institute has annually surveyed metal mining and exploration companies to assess how mineral endowments and public policy factors such as taxation and regulation affect exploration investment. Survey results represent the opinions of executives and exploration managers in mining and mining consulting companies operating around the world.